Hey Mouse? Level IV plates will stop black-tip, armor-piercing .30-06. Your magical power gun of lethality only has about 90% of the kinetic energy of a .30-06, so even if you were running AP in it, it’s not punching through…..Further…The M14 was the ONLY 7.62x51NATO primary rifle EVER adopted by the United States military….and it lasted what? Ten years as the primary infantry weapon? Far, far, FAR more little brown people have been killed by those “mouse guns” you bad asses like to brag about than were ever killed with the M14 (and I’m including in it’s current form as the SDM role). But hey, keep on keeping on with those delusions…..and ignore the reality that a lot of lightweight varmint rounds from .223 (40gr and 50gr especially), will punch right through rifle plates that .308s, including AP, won’t.
ND,
JM

Can’t see where any standard 40-50 gr. 5.56 bullet (with the exception of a lathe turned bronze or steel bullet) will punch thru armor plate and defeat a 7.62 FMJ or AP. Yes, the 5.56 is smaller and faster, penetrates Kevlar easier, but lacks the bullet weight to punch through most heavy objects. I’ve shot enough of both to know that the 5.56 can’t punch thru most brick walls and trees like a 7.62×51. Why are M-240 belt fed MG’s still used if the 5.56 can do everything better?
I used both the M-14 and M-16 while I was in, still own one of each today, shot Expert with both weapons, the M-16 will always be a Mouse gun to those of us who started out on the M-14. Most Viet Nam grunts still hold the M-14 in reverence, as opposed to the Matty Mattel POS they couldn’t wait to get rid of. It’s just a matter of what you were trained with.

lol I have nothing against “mouse guns”. but if you’re primarily intending to fight against people who likely have L3 or L4 plates, it makes sense to use a round that will deliver a sledgehammer to the chest so powerful that it will cause massive internal bleeding. so whether it penetrates is not the only consideration. and of course those “brown people” aren’t wearing L3/4 plates.

you do have a point though with lightweight .223, which I hadn’t considered

[QUOTE]DT: (one plate used for 5.56 mm shots, second plate used for larger calibers)
…..3 shots of M855 fully perforated the plate–2 were stopped by the soft armor, 1 penetrated through the soft armor…..

….shots of M67 successfully stopped by the plate
3 shots of M80 successfully stopped by the plate…
[/QUOTE]

5.56 WILL punch through armor that will stop .308. I don’t make this shit up. Not every plate is going to be penetrated by 5.56, obviously. Level III plates are designed to stop 5.56, but don’t stop all rounds. And yes, if you look further into it (I’m not getting paid to do the research for you. If you fail to do the research and die as a result of false impressions, it’s not on me), 40-50gr .223 WILL punch through armor that consistently stops other, heavier rounds.

(Caveat, I didn’t say 5.56 would penetrate through Level IV plates. If I did, it was an error, as I meant to point out that Level IV plates will stop the wunderround of .308. Level III plates, which are SUPPOSED to stop 5.56, may or may not, but WILL generally stop .308).

I didn’t say 5.56 was “better” than .308. In the GPMG role, and the sniper role .308 is superior, although FAR from perfect (thus the ongoing transition from .308 to .338Lapua and .50BMG, etc in sniper rifles). In the GPMG role, the extended range of the .308, regardless of the loss of accuracy when the round goes transonic, makes it a simple choice over 5.56. Further, the fact that the .mil has how many trillions of rounds of .308, and the weapons in the inventory that fire them? We’re not getting rid of .308 anytime soon.

No, they won’t punch through a reinforced concrete wall with a single round. Neither will .308. I’m not telling anyone to get rid of their .308s. I’m saying that belittling a weapon that works, and well, is stupid.